Haunted House
by T1gerCat
Summary: I walked by it every morning for years. It was old yet new. Scary yet comforting. Intimidating yet inviting. I always steered clear of it though. Until this year. Until I was dared to go inside it with my best friend. What I found? Why don't you see for yourself? Beware though he may bite...


_**Haunted House**_

**A/N:** Happy Halloween to everyone that celebrates it. Xoxo T1gerCat

I stood in front of the large mansion. It was painted in cream with crimson shutters framing the cracked windows and other details making it look haunty and downright scary. I had always been fascinated by the lone house in the middle of the busiest street and so I had accepted a dare to go inside it on the night of Halloween. That being said, I'm not sure why I agreed. I was petrified.

"Bella, are you ready to go?"

My best friend, Claire, asked. We were both loners and liked it that way. Of course that had been the exact reason we had been picked by the most popular group of the school to take the dare.

We figured that since we had just turned 17 we'd be brave and accept the dare. Frankly Claire looks even more scared than me right now and I'm shaking in my boots as we speak.

I nodded; we clasped hands and made our way to the door. The stone steps cracked loudly under our feet and I tripped on the hem of my long skirts in my haste to be off them as fast as possible.

We've heard so many rumors about this place. Scary stories about lost teenagers, traps and death residing here. The house was supposed to be haunted, cursed. No one that entered on the night of the Halloween (especially during a full moon) never exited or was ever seen again.

Did I mention that tonight is not only Halloween but the full moon as well?

Reaching the door Claire and I pushed it open together. My black lace gloves disappeared against the dark door while Claire's white nails contrasted blindly.

The heavy double doors lead to a large and vacant living room. Mountains of dust whisked at the faint rays of streetlights.

"What was the dare again?"

I stammered as the doors swung closed behind us.

"Stay in here until midnight, and you know, survive. The usual scary threats"

Claire tried to joke. The room had plenty large windows but they were all covered in heavy curtains. If we're gonna make it, we'll need to open them. This total darkness is creepy!

"Go away"

A heavily accented strange voice rang out.

"Did you hear that?"

"Nah, I bet it's just Jean and her clique. I can't believe we missed the Halloween party for this"

Claire complained. I chuckled at the mental image of the tall and unfairly beautiful Jean Force hiding in the upstairs of this dump trying to scare us.

"Wanna go upstairs?"

"No"

"If I'm not back in ten minutes, you can have my Austen collection"

I said going up the stairs.

"Oh, yeah, like I'm staying here by myself"

Claire laughed and started after me. Her flashlight met mine and illuminated the bare stairwell. Like the joke goes though, the moment there was extra light was the same moment she slipped and landed on her knees.

"Hey, I'm the klutz. You want to take my role?"

I laughed as she reached for my hand but instead of pulling her back up, she ended up pulling me down and we sat on the stairs together laughing.

"Nah. You just have to trip once more to balance the scales"

"Bite me"

I poked her and we stood up.

"Okay, I'll give you a few more steps. This place is a death trap"

I snorted in response and we kept on going up the stairs, still holding hands, the ends of our long skirts weeping the floor.

"Next year remind me to wear something short"

She said after a few more steps. I chuckled

"I thought we'd embrace the whole 'helpless lambs go into a haunted house' stereotype, shoot me"

I laughed pointing to our long white dresses under telltale red capes. Claire held a picnic basket and I had an apple. Claire's laugher mingled with mine even though she had no objection when we hunted for costumes.

The stairwell seemed endless and the silence felt heavy as a thick blanket with only the sound of our footsteps breaking it in.

"Can you imagine the look on their faces when we come out like champs?"

Claire laughed. Just then another voice rang out. This one was different, scared, female.

"Go back! Run before they catch you!"

Once that was heard, a sinister feeling filled the air.

"Bell, this place is starting to freak me out"

I turned to her.

"Really? It feels a bit cheesy to me"

I sneered back. My phone rang before she could reply and I fished it out of the small black leather pouch wrapped around my waist.

"Who is it?"

"Hey bitches, ready to give up? I'll be waiting outside with new diapers"

I read the message aloud.

"Who do you think it's from?"

I rolled my eyes and put the phone back in my pocket. Claire sniggered. The sound of her laughter was cut short as our flashlights died at the exact same time.

"Okay... Not so cheesy anymore"

I hadn't finished talking when candles flickered lit on holders on the walls.

"I think the house likes you"

Claire sniggered. Now that the place was well illuminated I could see that the house wasn't as dumpy as I thought earlier. It was still unkempt but if someone actually put sometime into restoring it, it could be beautiful. The walls were covered with dark green wallpaper and the ground was covered in dark brown and grey tiles. The staircase was actually dual and ended in a large landing that overlooked the whole ground floor.

I reached out to touch one of the walls behind the staircase, thinking the candle wasn't real. The candle _was_ real (just ask the pile of it that burned my skin) but right next to it was a life sized painting. It depicted a family but it was unlike any family portrait I've ever seen. None of the nine members seemed to want to be there and no one was looking at each other.

"Bella"

My fingers were still touching the painting.

"Bella!"

I was shaken out of reverie.

"Hey you okay?"

"Fine. There's just something about this painting..."

"Come on imaginative girlie. We still have time to kill till we can leave"

I flinched at the word 'kill' but reached for Claire's hand.

"Left or right?"

Hand in hand we began walking down the long corridor that connected the stairwell to a series of rooms. My feet led us to the lone room straight at the end of the corridor.

As we walked, the wood floor turned to something furry. Looking down we saw that the 'something furry' actually was mess of dead rats.

"ahh"

I exclaimed and raising my skirts I hurried off till the rat-carpet ended and series of wood were under our feet again. Claire was hot on my heels and we were both panting as we leaned on the green walls. a thumping noise was heard from the room at the end of the corridor as we did.

"You know, suddenly this doesn't sound like such a good idea after all"

I panted.

"We're not wimping out. Yet"

Claire declared as I wiped down my forehead. Grabbing my hand, Claire set off for the room with me running behind her. My heart beat faster with every thump from the room.

"Together?"

"Together"

Claire and I raised our connected hands to push the heavy door open.

The room was circular, large, windows on every wall and filled with easels and canvases. Some were white but most were painted.

As we stepped inside a strong gush of wind gushed out of nowhere and blew out the candles. The room was unnaturally dark.

"Bell...?"

Claire whimpered.

"I'm here"

I stammered back squeezing our intertwined fingers. The door shut itself with a bang and the candles flickered to life once again. A tall man was standing in front of one of the easels appeared with them. He had a mass of blond curls and his eyes were closed. One of his hands held a palette and a brush was grasped in the other.

"Where did he come from?"

Claire questioned. At once the guy whipped around faster than should be possible.

"How did you two get in here? How dare you come into my mansion?"

He hollered and the candles flickered once.

"You may want to lock the front door"

Claire snickered. I elbowed her as some form of logic formed in my head. The guy was right. We _were_ trespassing.

"I'm sorry. We thought the house was empty. We're here on a dare"

"A dare?"

His pink lips curled into a smile as his blue eyes bore in mine.

"Why don't you tell me all about it?"

He asked. Claire began talking at once.

"Our classmates sent us here. They think this place is haunted. If we last until midnight they'll leave us alone"

She explained in a monotonous drone. It was hard to pull my eyes away from those crystal blue orbs and when looked at my friend she was... motionless. Which, trust me if you've met Claire you know what I mean, strange. Claire never stands still! Now she did though, she stood still and slack like a well trained puppy waiting for a command.

"What did you do to her?"

I asked the guy not taking my eyes off of Claire

"Every year fools come into my house but it doesn't bother me. it's a good thing..."

He trailed, his accent deepening. A grin that could only be described as evil stretched his lips backwards. I must be delusional because I swear his teeth elongated.

"The good thing is?"

Claire repeated in the same dazed tone.

"I get to party and they get to die"

He finished his sentence. My heart began beating louder.

"You're insane"

I gasped. Next to me Claire remained motionless. The guy set his palette and brush down on the large circular table in the middle of the room and stalked to us. I took a few steps backwards but Claire was completely immobile. Her hand held onto mine hard like a statue.

This couldn't be a prank, could it? It was far too elaborate for stupid Billie-Jean and her cronies to come up with. Wasn't it?

"Insanity is such a bad term"

He admonished me and time began to stretch as he neared us, extended one pale hand to caress Claire's throat and pass through her short hair. With a light shove he pulled her upwards until she dangled in air.

"You do want to play with me, don't you?"

He asked in the same patronizing tone he'd been using to ask all his questions.

"No!"

"Yes, oh yes, yes please"

Claire would be jumping up and down if she could. The blond painter laughed as his fist opened and Claire fell on the floor in a heap. I knelt next to her.

"Now hush. I want to enjoy this"

He ordered us and walked to one of the blank canvasses.

"Claire, please, snap out of it!"

I plead with my best friend and shook her. My words fell on deaf ears as she sat there, still in a heap, her light green eyes looking nowhere waiting for the guy's next command.

"By the way I'm Klaus"

The painter said calmly as his hand went flying over the canvass. I felt bile rise in my throat. We're gonna die... why else would he tell us his name if he's planning on letting us go?

I ran a hand over my face. Okay, wimpy self I have to find a way to get Claire to snap out of it. Then she can come up with a way to escape the, rather hot, lunatic. I turned towards Claire and slapped her. All the fear and uneasiness I felt went into the slap and the sound my hand made when she met her skin was louder than a thunderstorm.

"Hey!"

She shouted at me.

"It did the trick"

I whispered back. Chancing a look at the guy I was relieved to see he was ignoring us. Thank God and all the Deities for small miracles.

"We need to get out of here, now"

"Who's the hottie?"

"Move it Clairedy Cat"

I ordered her. Her nickname jolted her out of whatever she was thinking and her green eyes, now perfectly alert, scanned the room.

"Please tell me you've got a plan"

"I sure do. Remember our first detention in 1st grade?"

she replied with a wicked smirk. I returned it

"On three"

"One, two, three"

Claire shouted. When she said 'three' we both grabbed the candles on the walls closer to us and threw them to the finished paintings. The wet paint caught fire quickly and the man, now irate, flew to them.

"You little..."

"Run!"

Claire ordered and we fled the room, the candles in the long corridor were once again unlit and we each held on to the wall for guidance. The fiery inferno was hot behind us

"Wait. What time is it?"

Claire grabbed my arm stopping in the middle of the hall.

"Are you really worrying about the freaking dare? The nutjob will kill us!"

I exclaimed angry and after tripping twice I led her to the stairs. Tumbling down took far less time that carefully going up and almost immediately we ran out of the mansion.

I won't lie. The cool night air felt refreshing and oh, so welcome. That house was stuffy!

"Hey, you bitches made it"

Jean said with her ruby red lips forming a pout. Claire checked the time on her cell phone and a bright smile lit her face

"We did"

She said happily as if nothing had happened. I turned to look at the mansion but there was no proof of what had just happened. No flames licking the walls, no smoke going out the windows, no angry blond guy with elongated teeth after us.

"Hey Bella"

I turned my attention back to my once friend and current enemy.

"Maybe you can join us for lunch tomorrow"

Jean said with a charming smile. The one she stopped smiling at my or Claire's way every since she was picked by the clique as a new member.

"I don't think so"

Her eyes slanted close annoyed.

"I'm going to the party. Don't follow me"

She left with the red cape of her vampire costume fly behind her. Claire turned to me with wide eyes

"Really? She asks us to join and you turn her down?"

"Yes Claire, really. She'd take it back tomorrow anyway and you know it"

I reminded my friend and she shrugged.

"I'm going home. Wanna walk together?"

I shook my head.

"I promised mom I'd meet her and pizza hut with Phil. see you tomorrow?"

"Sure thing babe"

I walked her walk away like she didn't have a care in the world.

"Claire?"

"What?"

She turned around.

"all that did happen, right?"

I pointed at the house. She raised one pale gold eyebrow

"All what? The house was empty"

She said in the same dazed tone she used earlier. With the painter. In the circular room

"Right... my bad"

Claire said goodbye and walked away. I wrapped an arm around my stomach

"Calm down Bella, it was just a prank. Nothing more"

I gave myself a pep talk and walked the opposite direction. If I truly believe that why do I still have a torn piece of the family painting grasped tightly in my left fist?

Better yet why am I remembering this 3 years later as none other than the blond, crazy painter slash probable killer is sitting in an armchair right across the table from my daughter and his son playing chess?

He turned angelic with pride as the little blond guy reached to touch my little girl's hand and the two kids shared a secret smile. I hid a smirk. So much for Nessie being Jacob's imprint and future mate…

_**The end**_


End file.
